Brass Monkey (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brass Monkey are an English folk band from the 1980s, who reunited in the late 1990s. They were innovative in their use of a brass section which was atypical for folk music.

The band consisted of Martin Carthy (vocals, guitar, mandolin), John Kirkpatrick (vocals, accordion, concertina), Howard Evans (trumpet), Roger Williams (trombone), Martin Brinsford (born 17 August 1944, in Gloucester, Gloucestershire) (harmonica, percussion, saxophone). Carthy was a well established musician at their formation, having been a member of Steeleye Span as well as leading a successful solo career. Kirkpatrick also had played with Steeleye Span for a time, and worked with Carthy in the Albion House Band. In 1979 the two formed a trio with Evans, and a couple years later with the addition of Williams and Brinsford they formed Brass Monkey. In 1984 Williams was replaced by Richard Cheetham (born 29 January 1957, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire). The band recorded only two albums before breaking up in 1987: Brass Monkey and See How it Runs, both primarily consisting of traditional songs and tunes.

In 1997 the group reunited for a tour, and soon recorded a third album, Sound and Rumour. This was followed by Going and Staying in 2001 and Flame of Fire in 2004. All five of their albums were released on Topic Records.